fuel your life

Monthly Archives: March 2013

Yup, that’s right. This stuff is better in nearly every way. It tastes buttery and good, it’s slightly sweet and salty (but not quite like a kettle corn), and it’s good for you. A perfect way to treat yourself AND a great snack to make for everyone at your holiday gatherings this weekend. Kids definitely approve of this one 😉

So what makes this popcorn so good? What makes it special? What makes it my go-to, no-guilt evening snack? The answer is simple. It all comes back around to coconut oil – you know, the stuff we talked about using as a moisturizerrecently. Coconut oil is still a fat, but let’s get real for a moment – fat free is T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E for you for a plethora of reasons. One reason is that fat free products, such as 99% fat free popcorn, is often devoid of nutrients and full of processed non-foods to make it taste good again. Fat free also isn’t good for our bodies or mind. Our brain needs fat to work and our body needs some fat to keep our digestive tract running. In Ayurveda, we balance the airyness of certain foods (think popcorn) with an oil or fat to keep the your digestion from becoming…airy…and in a hault.

Now, there are some fats we want to stay away from – saturated animal fats. These often clog your pipes (digestive as well as arterial) and can contribute to the build up of plaque and cholesterol. Plant-based fats often contain good fats the help support our systems and are free of cholesterol. A little of these is quite healthy for you. Coconut oil is high in fat, but very good for the body, mind, and soul.

DIY Coconut Popcorn:

1-2 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

sprinkle of (himalayan) sea salt

*you’ll also need a large pot – not too heavy, a lid, and a few pot holders

Heat oil on high. Add in kernels. Cover with lid. When they start popping, grab the potholders and start shaking the pot back and forth over the burner – this helps to get to all the kernels and keeps the popped ones from burning. Continue until you hear no more popping.

This one is a sweet treat to boost your health and tantalize your tastebuds. It’s sweet, yummy, and full of good for you greens. In the spirit of Treating YourSelf and learning to love You, I’ve created this delicious concoction to leave you satisfied and feeling healthy. Eat well, live well, and feel great.

Green Goddess:

Makes approximately 2 pints/servings of juice

1/2 pineapple

1 sweet potato

2 cucumbers

2 handfuls spinach

1 sprig of mint

1 lemon

1-2 apples

4 leaves of kale

Add all ingredients to the juicer and juice away! It’s sweet, tangy, and full of good for you greens! Doesn’t it feel great to treat yourself with love?

For more information on juicing, sign up for the newsletter! And stay tuned to for a healthy, yummy treat featuring good for you, nourishing coconut oil.

In the words of Tom Haverford – Treat Yo’ Self! Once in awhile, you’ve gotta let it go (all the stress, the responsibilities, the duties, the schedules) and just make time for yourself.

Yesterday, I had a million-and-one things to do. Teach classes, meet with clients, head to the store, meet with my friend for coffee, teach another class, and head to a writing group. Two of these were purely social engagements – no real responsibility behind them. I was stressed about my list of things. I thought, for a good while, about canceling my social plans. And then I thought – how crazy is this? I am stressed, so I am going to cancel the part of my day that will help me de-stress? This is ridiculous. All of the responsibilities will get done eventually. The world will keep turning, whether I go to the grocery store today or tomorrow.

The key point is – make time for yourself. Make time to do the things that YOU enjoy. Make time for a cup of tea with a friend, meet with a group and discuss your favorite book, go to yoga, Heck – go to Zumba – just take a time out and recharge. The more you care for yourself, the better you will be able to take care of others and the responsibilities ahead of you.

You wouldn’t use your phone all the time without recharging it would you? Why not do the same for your body and mind?

Today, I have for you one of my favorite ways to unwind and recharge – flowing yoga. In this week’s class, you’ll learn to reconnect to your body and mind by opening through your heart and your hips – the areas of emotion, stress, and compassion. As you flow through, listen to your heart, feel the emotions that are releasing. Breath, release, open, and let go. Find this week’s video on YouTube and Pinterest, as well as all of the previous videos. You can even subscribe to the YouTube channel and get weekly updates right to your email.

For even more on how to connect and learn to love your body, sign up for the newsletter. Each and every week, I’ll save my very best and most informative post just for you. Sign up today to learn all the tips and tools to live a vibrant, healthier you.

No, there won’t be any pictures here. Not because I’m embarrassed to share them- I always love a good laugh at the styles and the silly things I did- but because they are all packed away and it is much too late to be shuffling through boxes in the attic.

But on a more serious note – I want to talk to you today about a recent experience I had. It brought me to tears. Not because I was sad or felt bad about myself, but because I felt so bad for the younger version of me. Confused? Let me explain.

I have a few food intolerances – milk and gluten. I eat a plant-based diet, so I don’t eat dairy, making it easy to avoid. Gluten, however, can be much trickier. Sometimes it sneaks in when I least suspect it. Sometimes in small doses, it doesn’t bother me. The latter was the case over the weekend. I ate a bite of falafel and several hours later I felt awful (I falafel?). We were heading out to dinner and I out on my jeans – the only clean pair, my smallest pair. My stomach already felt bloated and I had pressure down through my waist band into my pelvis. It’s unpleasant, but it happens when I eat gluten. While riding in the car, my pants felt really tight. I was super uncomfortable, and I realized – this is EXACTLY how I always felt as a child – from elementary into middle school. . My pants always felt too tight. I felt I was always gaining weight. I played outside, we ate “healthy”. It never made sense, but I was chubby and nothing fit. Then I realized something, and this is where my tears kicked in. Sitting there, feeling that uncomfortableness I hadn’t felt in years, I realized that I probably could have avoided a lot of heartache if I had just listened to my body. If I had learned to tell which foods made me feel sick. If I had known that stomachaches were not normal. Painful bellies were not normal. I felt sorry for the little girl that had to go through this without ever knowing it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t find pants that fit. It was her diet’s fault. Too much dairy, too much gluten, and WAY too much processed foods – fat free or not, they were processed.

In sharing this with you, I hope to shed a light on a very big, and very important, issue. You don’t have to be uncomfortable. You don’t have to feel heavy and bloated. You can use foods to make you feel good, rather than awful. You don’t have to deal with pains and stomachaches or huge amounts of other symptoms.

How? Eat more vegetables. Eat less processed foods. Eat more whole foods – even grains. Cut out wheat and dairy. Drink more water. Move your body. Listen to and tune in to your body. Know that not all mainstream ideas of “healthy” really are. There are so many different types of food intolerances that often go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and are not believed, but they can cause serious mental and physical discomfort. By looking deeper into your diet, and cutting out the things that cause these intolerances, you can feel lighter, freer, and happier.

I’ll be posting a lot on this topic throughout the week. Leave a comment below if you have ever suffered from a food issue and how you have overcome it. For more information, send me a message or leave a comment – we can always work one on one to relieve any digestive upsets you may be experiencing. (FYI, initial consultations are completely FREE and can be done over the phone or skype if you live far form me). Let your journey to pain-free eating begin today! For tips on how and why to Treat YourSelf, sign up for the weekly newsletter. And as always,

Riddle for you: What is the largest organ in your body? Your heart? Your brain? Your liver? Your intestines? Nope, it’s your skin. Yup, that’s right. That thing you slather in all kinds of lotions, potions, and products is sucking it all in and soaking it up. Every last drop. And every last chemical concoction. Several of these chemicals and ingredients are known to be harmful to the body, carcinogenic (aka cancer-causing), and hormone disruptors. They are often unregulated and considered “safe” despite the science to prove they are no. A few of these ingredients are sulfates, fragrance/parfum, and parabens. Take a second, check your labels on your favorite go-to lotions/products, and then hurry back. What did you see? A crazy long list of ingredients? Some really hard to pronounce words? Scary ingredients? A lot of stuff you wouldn’t want to put on your body?

Think about it – when you eat, you avoid processed foods (hopefully) and know to look for short ingredient lists with words you can pronounce – REAL ingredients. So why wouldn’t you want to put the same ON your largest organ?

My interest was resparked this weekend while deep, spring cleaning. We purged a ton if items, got rid of old clothing, and put tons of stuff in storage. Our house in on its way to being sparkly and shiny – so we can sell it! While doing the deepest cleaning ever, I found some scary stuff hidden in my closet and under my cabinets. Tons of old lotions, full of yuck. And I had no interest in using them. So away they went.

So what do I use instead?

There are a few good brands out there. Some contain fragrances, but claim to use only naturally sourced fragrances and essential oils. My favorites are Whole Foods Brand, Jason, Kiss My Face, Yes to, and Dessert Essence.

My other super easy, one ingredient favorite?

Coconut Oil. Yup, the stuff you eat. It’s one of the best moisturizers around AND it is cooling and soothing to itchy, inflamed skin. Since coconut oil is hard at room temperature, just break off a small piece, rub it between your hands, warm it up, and slather it on. It’s a wonderful way to moisturize after a shower, or you can even put it on before a shower to lock all the moisture in tight. It works just like lotion – only better and with less ingredients! Give it a try today, and look for more coconut oil details and recipes coming up soon!

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Meet Jessi Andricks!

Hi! I'm Jessi Andricks, the founder of The House of Healthy. My passion is helping people regain their health and energy through whole, plant-based food; mind-body fitness; and holistic lifestyle habits. I offer one-on one, group, and online health coaching services. Check out my recipes and workouts and sign up for the weekly newsletter, where I feature even more healthy living tips and programs. My goal is to help you to live the happy, healthy life you deserve!